– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

I'm Neil. And I'm Beth.

As an adult,

when I need to tell somebody something, I just open my mouth and speak.

Neil, I'm hungry!

Ah, you'd better get something to eat then.

And when I want something, it's the same, I just ask.

Um, can you pass me that pen, please? Beth?

Yep. There you go.

So that's now,

but as babies, we're not able to speak.

We can only communicate with our bodies

or by crying.

We can't clothe, feed, or wash ourselves.

We rely on others totally for our survival.

We've all been one. But how do newborn babies tell mum

and dad what's going on before they can speak?

That's what we'll be investigating in this episode, along

with some useful new vocabulary, all of which you can find on our website.

bbclearningenglish.com. Baby communication is a topic child psychotherapist

Marie Derome writes about in her new book, What Your Baby Wants You to Know.

So, what do newborn babies want us to know?

Well, here's Marie's answer.

I think they want us to know that they need us 100%,

because without us, they won't survive.

Without someone caring for them, babies wouldn't survive.

So on a basic level, every baby is saying, take care of me.

Marie says babies need us 100%.

She uses the phrase 100% to emphasise that what she said is completely true.

And we'll hear more soon.

But first, I have a question for you, Neil.

Although they look small and helpless,

babies are born with some amazing abilities.

So which of the following statements about newborn babies is true?

A. Babies are born with a full set of teeth,

B. Baby's eyes change colour, or

C. Babies have the same number of bones as an adult.

Oh, that's an interesting question.

I think I know the answer though.

I'm going to go with B. Baby's eyes change color.

OK. Well, we'll find out if that's right at the end of the programme.

Now if you've spent time with a baby,

you've probably noticed how much they move their little arms and legs.

Here, Marie Jerome explains the meaning of these movements

to BBC Radio 4 programme, Woman's Hour.

75% of their movements are intentional, synchronised.

They're not jerky, you know, to the naked eye,

they appear very jerky, but they're not.

They're there to bring us in.

The parents, you know, they need us to they,

all those movements are there to say, look, come, look at me, I need you,

I want to, you know, to play with you.

Babies move their arms and legs to create a bond with their parents.

To the naked eye,

these movements look jerky,

an adjective meaning sudden and quick,

not smooth-flowing.

The phrase to the naked eye means in a way that can be seen

without special instruments, like a microscope,

or is seen in the way an ordinary person would.

In reality, these jerky movements are intentional,

meaning that they're planned and done for a particular purpose

to catch their parent's attention so they will be noticed and cared for.

Marie's book is aimed at new parents who are learning to understand

their baby's body language, but she also has advice

for parents who are finding it difficult to bond with their newborn,

as she explains here to BBC Radio 4 programme, Woman's Hour.

Parenting is really hard.

Falling in love with this little baby is not, you know,

this idea that love at first sight.

I think it's such an unhelpful cliche.

It will take time to love that baby, to get to know that baby.

Many new parents dream about falling in love with their baby at first sight.

The idiom love at first sight means being in love

with someone as soon as you see them for the first time.

But Marie thinks this ideal dream can cause problems.

She calls it an unhelpful cliche.

A cliche is an overused phrase or comment

that has been said so much that it's become unoriginal and uninteresting,

and in some cases unhelpful.

For example, by creating unrealistic expectations

or by making parents feel guilty they're not doing enough.

Marie says it takes time to get to know a newborn baby and to fall in love.

But for most parents, all the misunderstandings, sleepless nights

and dirty nappies are worth it for their amazing baby.

And speaking of amazing babies, what was the correct answer

to your question, Beth?

Well, the correct statement was that baby's eyes changed colour.

I think you got that right, Neil. I did!

It's an amazing fact, but apparently true.

Yes, indeed. OK, so let's recap the vocabulary we've learnt in this episode,

starting with the phrase 100%, which can be used to emphasise that

you completely agree with something, or that you consider something to be

completely right or wrong. If you describe a movement as jerky,

you mean it moves suddenly and stops and starts, rather than flowing smoothly.

The adjective intentional means planned and purposeful.

The phrase to the naked eye means in a way that can be seen

without special instruments, or to someone without special knowledge.

The idiom love at first sight describes the experience

of starting to love someone as soon as you see them for the first time.

And finally, an unhelpful cliche is an overused phrase or comment, a cliche,

which has the effect of creating unhelpful or unrealistic attitudes.

Once again, our six minutes are up,

but remember, you can find many more episodes,

plus a quiz and worksheet for this one on our website, bbclearningenglish.com

Goodbye for now. Goodbye!

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
baby /ˈbeɪbi/ A1	noun - a very young child
speak /spik/ A2	verb - to use words
communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/ B1	verb - to share or exchange information
need /nid/ A1	verb - require
care /kɛər/ A2	verb - to look after someone noun - attention or concern
survive /sərˈvaɪv/ B1	verb - to continue to live
ask /ɑːsk/ A1	verb - to request information
move /muːv/ A1	verb - to change position
movement /ˈmuːvmənt/ B1	noun - an act of moving
jerky /ˈdʒɜːrki/ B2	adjective - sudden and not smooth
intentional /ɪnˈtenʃənəl/ B2	adjective - planned
bond /bɒnd/ B2	noun - a strong relationship verb - to form a relationship
love /lʌv/ A2	noun - strong affection verb - to feel strong affection
cliché /ˈkliːʃeɪ/ B2	noun - overused phrase
phrase /freɪz/ B1	noun - group of words
emphasise /ˈemfəsaɪz/ B2	verb - to give importance
helpless /ˈhelpləs/ B2	adjective - unable to help yourself
parenting /ˈpeərəntɪŋ/ B1	noun - the activity of bringing up children